Carrie Underwood
Back to Main Page www.cmt.com biography The first country singer to win American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, OK, and began singing with her church at the tender age of three. Throughout her childhood, she also performed at functions for the Lion's Club and Old Settlers Day, eventually grading to festival gigs in several states. Along with developing her singing, Underwood learned to play guitar and piano. She graduated from high school as her class salutatorian and majored in mass communication at Northeastern State College with an eye on a career in broadcast journalism, but continued her singing career throughout her studies. thumb|| As a senior just a few credits short of her degree, Underwood heard about the auditions for the 2005 season of American Idol. She tried out for the show at the St. Louis, MO, auditions, and her innocent charm and pure, pretty voice ended up winning her not only a place among the 12 finalists, but the title of 2005's American Idol. Her debut single, Inside Your Heaven, was released that summer, and debuted at No. 1 atop Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart, making Underwood the first country artist to have a number one on that chart. She also began recording her debut album after completing the American Idols Live! tour. Some Hearts was released later that fall on November 15, 2005, and became a smash hit, selling over 315,000 copies in its first week and eventually going platinum a whopping seven times. The album's lead thumb|300px|right|Carrie Underwood - Jesus, Take The Wheelsingle, "Jesus, Take the Wheel," was also a big success, topping Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for six weeks. Acclaim for the album and single spilled over into 2006, when Some Hearts re-entered Billboard's Top Ten after Underwood's appearance on the 2006 American Idol finale. Meanwhile, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won Single Record of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards (where she also won Top Female Vocalist); a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association; and Breakthrough Video and Best Female Video at the CMT Awards, making her the only double winner at the event. Underwood's next single, "Don't Forget to Remember Me" found its way to the top of the country charts as well. Despite her hectic career as a country music star -- which included carrying her Some Hearts tour through the fall of 2006 -- Underwood found the time to finish her degree and become a spokesperson for People for the Ethical thumb|300px|right|Carrie Underwood - Cowboy CasanovaTreatment of Animals (who named her 2005's World's Sexiest Vegetarian). "Before He Cheats" was released as Underwood's third single late in 2006, and became her third country number one and her fourth total number one hit. That December, she won five Billboard Music Awards: Album of the Year, Top 200 Female Artist of the Year, Female Country Artist, New Country Artist, and Country Album of the Year. Early in 2007, Underwood began work on her second album, while "Wasted" became the fourth single taken from Some Hearts; she performed it on an episode of American Idol that March, and the following month, it hit number one on the Hot Country Songs Chart. Underwood gathered more accolades by winning three awards at the 2007 CMT Awards -- Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, and Video Director of the Year for "Before He Cheats" -- and taking home two Grammys, which included Country Song of the Year for "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and Female Vocal Performance of the Year. She also took home three 2007 ACM Awards in May, which included Album of the Year for Some Hearts and Top Female Vocalist. She made thumb|300px|right|Carrie Underwood - Temporary Homeanother trip to American Idol late in the month for the sixth season finale, where she sang "I'll Stand by You" to a standing ovation. During the show, Clive Davis recognized Underwood's sextuple-platinum sales; Underwood was the first country artist to sell that many copies of a debut album since LeAnn Rimes' Blue in 1996. She also appeared on Brad Paisley's album 5th Gear, which was released in June 2006. Riding on that swell of support, Underwood released the sophomore effort Carnival Ride on October 23, 2007, which sold a whopping 527,000 copies in its first week. Five of the album's tracks hit the top of the country charts, including "So Small", "All-American Girl", "Last Name", "Just A Dream", and "I Told You So", pushing the album to 3 million in sales and earning her an additional Grammy Award. Having ten number one singles, Underwood became the first country artist to have ten consecutive number one hits from her first two albums. Carnival Ride also won Favorite Country Album at the American Music Awards. In 2008, Underwood embarked on a joint tour with Keith Urban and also launched her own headlining tour, which proved to be successful. On May 10, 2008, Underwood was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Garth Brooks. At the age of 25, she was the youngest member of the Opry at the time. In May 2009, she earned the Academy of Country Music Award's Entertainer of the Year title, making her only the seventh woman in history to win this award. Underwood released her third studio effort, Play On, on November 3, 3009, with first week sales of 318,000, which found her devoting more focus than ever to her songwriting abilities. She co-wrote seven of the album's tracks, including the leadoff single, "Cowboy Casanova." It and the two follow-up singles -- "Temporary Home" and "Undo It" -- all reached No. 1 on Billboard's country songs chart, giving her 13 No. 1 singles. In late 2009, Underwood had her very own CMT Invitation Only and also hosted a Christmas special, Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, a two-hour variety show on Fox that featured Dolly Parton, with whom she sang a rendition duet of "I Will Always Love You", seventh-season American Idol champion David Cook, Kristin Chenoweth, Brad Paisley and others. In 2010, Underwood won her fifth career Grammy -- the best country collaboration with vocal award -- for her duet with Randy Travis, "I Told You So." She also managed to win Favorite Country Artist at the People's Choice Awards. She embarked on her Play On Tour in March, which was insanely successful, and continued to tour through the rest of year. Underwood made history by winning the Academy of Country Music Award's Entertainer of the Year for a second time in April, making her the first woman in history to do so. She also received the ACM Triple Crown Award, a rare feat. In March she made her TV acting debut on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The superstar wed professional hockey player Mike Fisher on July 10, 2010, leading to the release of "Mama's Song", which reached No. 2 on Billboard's country songs chart. Play On garnered the award for Favorite Country Album at the American Music Awards, making Underwood the first country artist to win this award for her first three albums. In December, Underwood picked up a record-setting six awards at the first annual American Country Awards, including Artist of the Year, Touring Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Play On, Single by a Female Artist for "Cowboy Casanova", Music Video by a Female Artist for "Cowboy Casanova" and Female Artist of the Year. In addition, Underwood was named one of the top five artists of the year by CMT. At the 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards, Underwood sang with Steven Tyler both her song "Undo It" and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". In May 2011, Underwood was one of the seven women to be honered by the Academy of Country Music at the Girls' Night Out: Superstar Women of Country special. She was recognized for being the first and only female artist in the Academy's history to ever win Entertainer of the Year twice. At the ceremony, Vince Gill introduced Underwood and presented her with the special award. He sang one of her hits, "Jesus, Take The Wheel", and joined Underwood on a rendition performance of "How Great Thou Art". The video of the performance turned into a viral sensation, reaching 3 million views on YouTube within two days. Underwood continued to act between touring and recording and co-starred in the 2011 inspirational movie, Soul Surfer. Also in early 2011, the Hollywood Reporter declared her to be the top earner among American Idol alumni with well over 14 million albums sold. Underwood and Brad Paisley co-hosted the CMA awards shows in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2011 they hit the Billboard charts with "Remind Me," a cut from Paisley's album, This Is Country Music, which hit number one on Billboard's country songs chart in late August. As of the summer of 2011, Underwood was working on her fourth album. www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com biography Carrie Underwood's career is the stuff of dreams. Possessed of that rarest of combination--undeniable talent, an extraordinary work ethic, and girl-next-door likeability--she blossomed as a national phenomenon before tens of millions of viewers by winning American Idol, captivated by both her vocal talent and personality. The artistic growth that has accompanied her subsequent rise into the upper reaches of the entertainment world has placed her among the foremost artists of her generation. Hers is superstardom with a human face. Press, fans and peers alike have recognized that beneath the fairy tale gowns there still beats the heart of a dreamer, and her grace amid the extraordinary demands of such a public rise has given each accomplishment added luster. Those accomplishments have been myriad. With just three albums behind her, Carrie has built a career that would be the treasured work of a lifetime for most artists. The breadth and depth of her work speaks for itself--songs like "Jesus, Take The Wheel," "Before He Cheats," "So Small," "All-American Girl," "Last Name," "Just A Dream," “Cowboy Casanova,“ “Temporary Home,” “Undo It,” and “Mama’s Song,” among others, have been a rich part of the new millennium's musical soundscape. She has passed the thirteen million mark in CD sales and was the first country artist in history to achieve ten #1 singles from her first two albums. She scored three more #1 singles from Play On bringing her total to 13 #1 singles. She is a two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year recipient, the seventh woman in the show's 42-year history to take that crown and the first woman in history to win the award more than once. She was both ACM and CMA Female Vocalist of the Year for three consecutive years, and her list of awards includes five CMAs and ten ACMs, as well as five Grammys and a host of others from People's Choice, Billboard, the American Music Awards, Teen Choice, CMT and many others. She has three times been chosen co-host of the CMA Awards, and she was the top-selling country female touring artist of both 2008 and 2010, as both her headlining "Carnival Ride Tour" and “Play On Tour,” respectively, played to more than 1 million people each year. Among Carrie's most treasured milestones is her induction into the Grand Ole Opry. Despite all her accolades, travels from New York to Los Angeles, all the entertainment shows and magazine covers, she remains firmly rooted in country music. She was invited to join by one of her idols, Randy Travis, whose "I Told You So" she took to the top of the charts in 2009, and inducted by another, Garth Brooks. "The induction award they gave me says, 'Hey, you're a part of the family,'" she says. "It means a lot to me because it's the heart of country music, the church, the sacred place, the super-elite club that says you love this music." Her love for music is evident throughout her most recent album, Play On, as is her arrival as a mature artist, confident, fully in command of her extraordinary vocal skills, and tackling a wider artistic range both lyrically and musically. Equally important, in co-writing seven of the CD's thirteen songs, she emerges as a songwriter of real depth, opening a wider window into her creativity and allowing her fans their most intimate look at Carrie the artist and person. "Because of my songwriting," she says, "I feel like somebody can listen to this album and get more of a sense of who I am. They can listen to certain things and think, 'This is really sincere. This is really emotional. She was a writer on it, so this comes from something that was deep inside of her heart.' I do feel like people can get to know me a lot better from Play On." Carrie's songwriting has already brought her four awards from BMI, the performing rights organization, for "All-American Girl," "So Small," “Last Name,” and “Cowboy Casanova.” The public's first glimpse came with Play On's first single, "Cowboy Casanova," which Carrie co-wrote with Mike Elizondo and Brett James. The song, with its high-energy look at "a snake with blue eyes" roared into the Top 10 in just four weeks. Much of the album is in fact concerned with the ups and downs of love, the good and bad among the world's men. Songs range from "This Time" and "Mama's Song," two takes on the best that love has to offer, to "Undo It" and "Songs Like This," which lay it on the line for the men in relationships gone wrong, and from "Look At Me," which features vocal help from Vince Gill and deals with the pure exhilaration of falling in love, to "What Can I Say," a song of regret featuring Sons of Sylvia. One of the true vocal highlights is "Someday When I Stop Loving You," an exquisitely sung exploration of sadness in the wake of a failed relationship. Carrie's own experiences let her infuse both ends of the spectrum with the sting of truth. "I've seen a lot in the dating world," she says, "and it's not one-dimensional, where I'm in love all the time or hate men all the time. I've been everywhere in between, and through my own experience or that of friends, I've seen every kind of guy, and I think some of these songs capture the everywhereness of being a woman." But there is much more to be found on Play On. The title cut is an exhortation to persistence in the midst of obstacles, sung with the fire that has marked so much of Carrie's work. "Temporary Home," penned by Carrie with Zac Maloy and Luke Laird, is one of the strongest representations of hope ever committed to CD, as Carrie tells the story of a boy in foster care, a young mother in crisis, and a man facing his own mortality. Given Carrie's emergence as a force for social good in terms of charitable work and humanitarian causes, "Change" is in a very real sense the album's cornerstone. "This is a world so big it can break your heart," she says. "It just seems like there are so many problems. What do you do? Where do you start? Well, there are opportunities every day, so many things around you where you can make a difference. Sometimes it's the smallest thing--the person in this song had just 36 cents, you know?--and I'm really anticipating being able to do some good with this song." For all the variety in its subject matter, for all the musical avenues it explores, Play On is an album that will resonate for its energy, its celebration of life, and its reflection of Carrie as an artist hitting stride. "There's a little more mature subject matter on certain songs for sure," Carrie says, "but I like to think I'm still young enough to keep the fun and the sass and things like that. I'm also in a good place where I do feel a lot more grown-up, more confident in my writing and in my ability to open myself up a little bit more." By now the particulars of Carrie's early years are well known. She grew up in Checotah, Oklahoma, "playing on dirt roads, climbing trees, and, of course, singing," something she did in church, and in grade school musicals and talent shows. She attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK, majoring in broadcast journalism with an eye to a practical career. Her sorority sisters at Sigma Sigma Sigma, though, urged her to sing publicly, and she overcame her shyness enough to sing at a Branson-style show that included singing, dancing and comedy. "It was mainly there," she says, "that I learned what it was like to be in front of a crowd." During her senior year, she heard about auditions for American Idol, and the magic that accompanied her tryout has been unfolding before the eyes of the American public ever since. Carrie still treasures the upbringing that has helped her keep her feet on the ground while her life and career have soared. She visits family and friends in Checotah when she can, and she has established a foundation called C.A.T.S. - Checotah Animal, Town, and School Foundation to focus charitable efforts on her hometown community. "I felt like it was a really good time to start something that could do good for others," she says, "because I've had so much good fortune just poured on me over the past five years that it's definitely time to give back." Giving back has become a big part of her life, from traveling to Africa with American Idol's Idol Gives Back, to visiting troops in the Middle East, it is her giving spirit that she sees as the cornerstone of her legacy. While she is working to make meaningful and lasting art, she is working to keep that quest within a larger context. "Everybody has the power to do something, to be a contributing force," she says, "and I would rather people look back on my life and say, 'She made the world a better place.' We can all do things like that, and I believe that when opportunities arise for you to do good, you should do good." Her commitment to that goal, like her incredible accomplishments as an artist, has made Carrie synonymous with all that is best in modern music. With Play On, she takes both her life and her art another big step forward. Underwood